First we had Michael Crick reporting: I've heard from a couple of Labour activists tonight in different non-target seats that their local parties have had their access to Labour's centralised canvassing system – called Contact Creator – blocked. That makes it very difficult, these activists say, to canvass voters in their own seats. Both activists think this is an effort by Labour high command to force activists to move to campaign in Labour target seats which which their own local parties are twinned. and: Some has DMed me: Re Contact Creator ... It's been turned off if non battleground ground ...
It's tempting to say that Brixworth is dominated by its Saxon church, but really you have to go looking for it. As is common in Northamptonshire, the ancient village centre was bypassed by the later road network. Anyway, here are some photos of houses near the church that I took the other day. You may notice that Jonathan Harris, Brixworth's councillor and the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Daventry constituency, is doing rather well here.
Just as it's not Christmas until we have seen a news story about a crap Santa's Wonderland, so it's not summer until the first boy has gone to school in a skirt as a protest against not being allowed to wear shorts. And summer 2024 is here, reports the Kidderminster Shuttle, thanks to the head boy of a school in Worcester: Nikita Tkachuk, who has just finished his GCSEs at Nunnery Wood High School, protested as he believes it is unfair that boys must wear long trousers during summer months. He wanted the uniform to include tailored shorts but the ...
Survation has a constituency poll for the Prime Minister's North Yorkshire constituency of Richmond & Northallerton.
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is out. As it says: In the end, it's only the votes that win seats that count. You don't get any prizes for being well liked by others. Which is why it's the voting intention polls that are summarised in this newsletter each week. Find out more by reading this edition of The Week in Polls here, and you can sign up below to receive future editions direct to your email inbox:
Sun 23rd
16:16
If you haven't got photo ID for the vote on 4 July apply for a Voter Authority Certificate by 26 Jun...
Around 2.1 million people of voting age in the UK don't have photo ID, such as a passport, driving licence or bus pass. In some cases, people may have substantially changed the way they look and don't look like the photo on their ID. Others may have changed their name on getting married (in which case take your marriage certificate with you). Unlike previous general elections, on 4 July, no ID, no vote. You'll be turned away at polling station if you can't show an accepted form of photo ID. I provide a full list of accepted forms of photo ...
When I was canvassing for Charlie Maynard, the Lib Dem candidate in Witney and West Oxfordshire, I asked a lady who has traditionally voted Conservative but is voting Lib Dem if she'd put a sign in front of her house. "I'd rather not," she said. "There's a man across the street who takes down signs he doesn't like, and I don't want to get into a fight with him." "How about a small sign that you can stick to the inside of your front window?" I asked. "Surely he wouldn't put a rock through it?" She declined, looking like she ...
I liked this when it was in the charts in 1973, but I never grasped what it was about. Wikipedia says: The song tells a story about a rock and roller whose guitar is shipped to Oriole, Kentucky, instead of Memphis, Tennessee. ... The musician gets half-way to Memphis before he realises his guitar is missing. It takes a month to track it down. When he gets the guitar back, he is scolded by a stranger for being neglectful and self-centered with the phrase "rock-n-rollers; you're all the same". ... The song reflects a weariness with the rock and roll ...
Sun 23rd
10:53
How political leaflets used to look: Robert Maxwell, Field Marshal Montgomery, house prices and some...
There is so much to enjoy about this 1964 Labour leaflet for Robert Maxwell that I won't say much to get between you and enjoying it.
There were some bleary eyes in many campaign headquarters yesterday after many of our campaigners had stayed up beyond midnight to see the finale of this year's all too short series of Doctor Who. There are a lot of Doctor Who fans in this party. They will be interested to know that actor, writer and director Nicholas Pegg, who has spent much of the past 20 years as a dalek operator on the series, has endorsed two Lib Dem candidates in Devon, where he lives. He also had some very positive things to say on Twitter about Ed Davey's performance ...
Work at Ludlow Railway Station to install a lift on the northbound platform, new power supply, upgraded lighting and a new announcement system is progressing with all work expected to be completed by the end of July. This is two months later than expected, the delays occurring early in the project when there was difficulty in obtaining piling equipment. Network Rail say: "Whilst most of the work has been done, we still have different milestones that we need to achieve before we can remove the traffic management. This includes the work to install the lift, capping beam, retaining wall and ...
Remember you need a photo ID to vote in the upcoming General Election on 4th July. If you aren't online or need help getting free voter ID come along to one of the drop in sessions - the final one is next Wednesday - details below. For more information on voter ID go to
John Crace hits the nail on the head in the Guardian when he questions the purpose of TV election debates. If, like me, you have reached the stage where you are questioning the point of BBC's Question Time, then these election debates must seem even more pointless. The one thing that can be said for them is that they enable broadcasters to claim to have fulfilled their mission to educate and inform, to have contributed to the democratic process, but how many people actually watch them? Crace argues that broadcasters are able to console themselves with the knowledge there must ...
